Session Fifteen
General Summary
Resuming in Tarana, late on Eld (7) of Bird Moon (9). Picks up after the party has spoken with the Council of Matrons and given their report on the Vault of Shadows.
A Familiar Face
Hester Kettell, a former Nova Excelsium dockworker and friend of Vaurvan is in Tarana as bodyguard and part of the entourage for Melody Locke and the Symphonia Borealis, which is due to perform in Tarana in two days time. Over a pint, Hester and Vaurvan caught up a bit about the old days, and Vaurvan tapped her for some rumors she may have picked up on her recent travels. She confirmed the Nightscream as a known pirate airship, and passed along the rumors that "no one who seeks them returns." Hester mentioned seeing a dirigible traveling southwest along the Readmuse Range when the entourage was at Talverton Hold. She described the ship as uncomfortable to look at for too long, something about it made her uneasy. However, there was also something familiar - a glint at the stern that reminded her of the gilded statues adorning the stern of the Ivory Citadel. She also cautioned the party for their upcoming stop at The Avail Academy; just as Melody Locke's entourage was departing, it seemed like students were getting sick, and some were even going missing. Not sure if the two were related, or how serious anything was - but no one in the entourage has fallen ill in the week since their departure.A Wench's Update
Cheyanne "Doc" Adkins receives a sending from Axa Trigg, "This is new. Artifices losing power sporadically or not working at all. Unrelated - Railcamp in riots: no work, no pay. Hoods spotted again, no update."Walking the Edge of the Leaf
Investigation of medallion found in Peren's workshop leads the party to a small gathering hall called the Leaf's Edge, where they meet the tabaxi bartender, Two Birds. Frustrating the party with her doublespeak, yet for some reason unwilling to speak plainly, she eventually conveys to the party that they might find more direct answers from Matron Harveld Greatroot, one of the leaders of Tarana. The party chooses not to pursue this lead at this time, instead heading out of Tarana atop their friendly mushroom hopper, Aadi. Mostly uneventful, their journey to the edge of the Everwood was marked only by a brief glimpse of the familiar figure of Indrid Penna, the strange woman encountered shortly before their initial arrival in Tarana. (Session Eleven or something, I think?)Out of the Everwood, into the Everfire...
(ok, that was a smidge of a lame pun) Leaving Aadi safely in xir native environment of the Everwood, the party leaves the treeline and walks down the hill to the Hearth of Zivaria, arriving around midday on Gai (10) of Bird Moon (9). The Hearth of Zivaria is densely populated with pilgrims and clerics alike. Of the robed figures, the majority are wearing the pearly white robes of Ghyta, Goddess of Oracles and Divination. This is not normal, at least in Harmony's experience, as usually there is a pretty equal assortment of deities represented by their clerics, usually with only Zivaria herself showing a majority presence among the priests. Harmony and Cheyanne stop to speak with some Ghytan clerics. Vaurvan and Blackfin do as well, at a different part of the tent city. They learn that all clerics of Ghyta received the same vision, calling them to the Hearth of Zivaria on the equinox, as a foretold eclipse will signal the endtimes, and only the followers of the One Who Sees can unravel the secrets within the shadowed sun. Cheyanne keeps an eye out for a particular cleric of Ghyta as they explore. Vaurvan builds a cairn and prays to Ghyta. What a guy. Harmony leads Cheyanne on a holy walk, and tries to commune with Viena to gain some guidance on the current situation. Cheyanne prays to both Zivaria and Ghyta. Once the majority of Ghytan clerics have assembled in the Cradle, the subterranean temple below the Hearth, they all become enraptured into a vision, and a loud humming is heard, shortly turning into wailing, shrieking, and crying. Vaurvan steps through the Everflame, and finds himself in a pitch dark, stone room, where the floor is littered with bones. As the Ghytan clerics continue to remain enraptured, cultists disguised as priests of all sorts begin to cast a ritual, summoning a black hole into the middle of the chamber, resulting in the deaths of dozens of Ghytan clerics, and the floor shattering into a previously hidden room below. Our intrepid heroes intervene, eliminating all but one cultist, and managing to save two familiar Ghytan clerics, Madam Minkara from Crossings Cave, and Lilvi, a former romantic relation to Cheyanne.The Blinded Seers
The two remaining clerics appear to be blinded from the encounter, but as the party explores the newly revealed room, Vaurvan finding his way through the labyrinthian crypts to a side entrance, they find a statue that can only be described as "the Sleeping Mother" - a depiction of the recognizably voluptuous figure of Zivaria, laying on her side in slumber. When the Ghytan survivors touch the statue, they share a vision, speaking the below prophecy.Mountains rise and rivers reverse their course when the Veins of the World split open. Spires claw from an icy plain where a chasm rends the snow asunder; The Paragon speaks and truth is revealed when the Starscale hunts from her glittering breach. The Stars grow jealous of mortal power as the Third Sister causes a rage of magic. When the Black Sun hungers for Ichor spilt, the Magickeater devours the One who survived her Snare. An omen rises when the Moon falls, heralding the reclamation of the True Prime.
